Developing a package for the reemerging Tiki brand
The Client:
Lucas Bols was founded over 440 years ago, making it the oldest distilled spirits brand in the world. A privately held, award-winning Dutch company, Lucas Bols is responsible for the production, distribution, marketing and sales aspects of more than 20 different product lines – Bols Liqueurs, Bols Genever, Damrak and Galliano are a few of their most popular brands. The company’s mission is to provide its customers with the greatest cocktail experience in the world, a customer base that reaches more than 110 countries.
The Challenge:
Lucas Bols came to us with one clear objective – to inspire wholesalers, retailers, and consumers to merchandise and purchase their new Galliano Tiki Box during the holiday season. The Galliano brand is a traditional and iconic Italian liqueur that has gained prominence among members of the Tiki world due to its sophisticated, herbal nature, making it a necessary ingredient in many Tiki cocktails. Because of this, it was important that we crafted a package that integrated the brand’s rich Italian history with Tiki-inspired features. We also were challenged to create an appealing graphical and structural design that incorporated a window to showcase the contents inside as well as structural reinforcements to protect the heavy, glass products from shifting or breaking during transit. Like most packaging concepts, budget was also top of mind; therefore having a keen understanding of how different materials and sizes affected the pricing was key.
The Solution:
Our structural and graphic designers created a package that was both durable and visually appealing to customers. Using 24pt SBS C1S from Masterprint and 2 mil PVC plastic, our design team constructed a folding carton that included three inserts, a large front window, and a highly innovative lock system. The lock system included a top die-cut fold-in flap and full-flap auto bottom with lock tabs and feet to provide shelf stability and additional shipment security for the heavy glass products. The large front window provided visibility of the product, increased customer approval rates and purchase intentions. The inserts were printed five color, including a gold-metallic ink that our team thought would correlate nicely with the gold foil stamp on the bottle’s logo while controlling cost. The box and three inserts were all printed and die-cut on one sheet, and only one insert required gluing – cost-effective decisions we made that were greatly appreciated by our client.
The Results:
Our packaging solution exceeded our client’s expectations as Jaron Berkhemer, Marketing Director of Lucas Bols USA, stated “The package instantly became a hit in large part because the design allowed for the items to be shown effectively while beautifully conveying a Tiki look and feel with a smart reference to the brand’s Italian identity.” The package’s impact was tremendous as it led to a large sales boost. “It was our best performing value-added pack ever,” Berkhemer said, “as it was the first one of our packs to be approved in major national and regional grocery chains we were targeting.” The package not only boosted sales, but it significantly increased brand growth and recognition too, as the Galliano Tiki Box was featured in major national trade and consumer media.
Tap Packaging Solutions received an Award of Excellence in the Paperboard Packaging Council’s 2015 North American Paperboard Packaging Competition for the Lucas Bols Galliano Tiki Package. This is a prestigious award that is given by a seasoned panel of judges who have years of knowledge and expertise in the packaging design industry.
Austin Johnson
Author